NTL job cuts ‘regrettable but absolutely necessary’

Tough times ahead for the cableco

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Employee morale at NTL has been described as very "glum" following today's shock announcement that an extra 2,000 people are set to lose their jobs at the debt-saddled company.

According to insiders, many are upset that they heard about the redundancies via the media first, instead of directly from the company.

In an email sent to employees this morning seen by The Register, NTL COO, Stephen Carter, explained that the job cuts were "regrettable but absolutely necessary".

He explained that while the September 11 terror attacks had not directly hit the business, it had "effectively closed the already shaky capital markets that we and other telecoms companies depend on to fund our business."

He continued: "Moreover, we cannot count on any improvement any time soon. Because the markets are closed, we need to spend the minimum amount needed to run our business, and we have to run it in a way which generates cash. We have to do this to give ntl long-term security."

Mr Carter also explained that NTL had to focus on retaining customers rather than focus on trying to increase its subscriber base.

"It doesn't mean we won't grow at all, but our firm priority is to keep our existing customers by improving the service we give them," he said.

"If you look at our churn rates today, we're losing customers practically as fast as we're taking them on. It doesn't make sense. So we're going to stop putting half our focus into marketing to new customers and start putting our whole focus into looking after the 3 million we already have, and upselling our highest value products and services to them. The emphasis in all areas will be on revenue growth through our existing customer base," he said.

Earlier today NTL announced that it would employ 13,000 people in the UK following this latest round of job cuts. At the beginning of the year NTL employed almost 22,000 people. ®